Removable steering and propulsion unit for shallow draft vessels



Aug. 3, 1948. w. H. HOUSE REMOVABLE STEERING AND PROPULSION UNIT FOR SHALLOW DRAFT VESSELS Filed Nov.

I Z4 t7 INVENTOR. W" H HOUSE Patented Aug. 3, 1948 REMOVABLE STEERING AND PROPULSION UNIT FOR SHALLOW DRAFT VESSELS William H. House, Houston, Tex. 7

Application November .6, 1944, Serial No. 562,223

Claims. .1 v The invention relates to a unit which is capable of propelling and steering shallow draft vessels.

With shallow draft vessels such as tugs, barges and river and canal craft, considerable difiiculty is encountered due to damage and injury to the propelling and steering gear. This is particularly true with wheel type propulsion vessels because very often the propeller wheel and the rudders are caused to strike against logs or other obstacles and it is not uncommon for a. log to become lodged in the propeller wheel or otherwise damage or bend the wheel or rudder so that dry docking of the barge is necessary to remove the obstruction or to efiect the repair.

The present invention contemplates a unit which is readily removable and insertable relative to the vessel so that in event of damage or injury the unit may be hoisted to the deck of the vessel by any suitable hoisting equipment on board, the repairs made and the unit reinserted while the vessel remains in floating or traveling position and no dry docking operation is necessary.

It is therefore one of the objects of the present invention to provide a removable unit for shallow draft vessel's, which unit is capable of steering and driving the vessel.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a shallow draft vessel of a construction that is adapted to removably receive a combination driving and steering unit.

Another object of the invention is to construe-t a shallow draft vessel so that it will removably receive a combination steering and driving vunit which will be so supported in the vessel so as to form a support below the propeller wheel.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a maximum diameter Wheel which can be used without projecting above the Water level nor below the hull and providing a skeg therefor to slide over obstacles and to protect the wheel.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a combination driving and steering unit for shallow draft vessels which will provide sufiiclent rudder power to adequately control the vessel and any tow which it may have.

Still another object of the invention is to pro- ,vide a shallow draft vessel with a steering and driving unit whichwill. permit tailing of the load through a restricted area.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a steering and propelling unit for shallow draft vessels so constructed and attached to the hull that the maximum diameter propeller can be protected, shielded by the. bulk of the hull with increased rudder power and-maneuverability over the conventional type screw propelled vessel.

Another object of thisinvention is to provide I a steering and propelling unit that can be driven by a non-reversing power plant less expensive, least complicated and better adapted to remote control.

Another object of the invent-ion is to provide a shallow draft vessel having a receding stem with the openings through the hull which will permit the insertion and removal of a driving and steering unit. Other and further object-sof the invention will be readily apparent when the following is considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the stern of. a vessel embodying the features of the invention Fig. 2,is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and illustrates the steering gear connection.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the spacers or containers utilized in filling the hull opening.

Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the oil-center relationship of the propeller wheel driving gear.

Fig. 5 is a sectiontaken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1. r

In Fig. 1 the hull 2 is merely illustrative of the stern of a shallow draft vessel such for instance as a tug or a barge capable of negotiating more or less shallow waters, such as rivers and canals. The stern 3 of thisvessel is of course madeup of the deck 4 and the receding portion 5 which extends underneath the deck 4 for a substantial distance, where it turns downwardly and provides a, trailing edge 6 which is formed by the recessed areas 1, which converge toward the rear and terminate in this trailing edge 6. These grooves or recesses l are defined on the lowerside by the skeg member 8 which may be in the form of an extension of the keel of the vessel. This skeg 8 is of such a length that it terminates directly below an opening l0 formed in the, hull tion by a cap l3 and the bolts Hi. This bearing is in the form of an eccentric H and arranged to serve as a support for the lower end of a com bination driving and steering unit l5, which is best seen in section in Fig. 1. This unit is made up of a frame or flange which may be bolted at 21 to the deck 4 of the vessel and the two halves thereof may be held together by the connesting bolts 22 so as to clamp between them the bushing 23 which will act as a thrust bearing for the steering column24, which in turn carries the thrust collar 25 which will bear against this bushing andiprevent upward movement of the steering column relativeto the frame. The bushing has an outstanding rib 2'! thereon which is clamped in the frame members 20.

The steering column has the annular gear 2-9 thereon whose surface is cut to mesh with the worm shaft 30, which may be connected to any suitable source of power or to a suitable steering control whereby the steering eolurnnjll will be turned. This steering column has the wheel tunnel 32 fixed to its lgwer end and thistunnel in turn carries a stud shaft 33 which fits into the ebearing 12 so as to hold the steering-column. and wheel tunnel in exact aligned position. This wheel tunnel serves as arudder and provides considerable contact surface with the slip streams of water passing into the recess 1 due to the r bearing efi ina spider construction-(operating the wheel tunnel 32. This-spider tends to stabilize ithe slip stream and direct it-against the wheel. A drive shaft 38 carries a gear=39 adaptedtobe rotated-by the drive shaft! connected to a suitable sourceof power. Asupport bearing M rides.

on the ring gear'29 so as to permit the free rotationof the drive shaftk3-8. Fhepropeller shaft 43 carries a hypoid gear 44 which is arranged to mesh with a similar hypoid gear 45 mounted-on the drives-heft. As seen in Fig. 4, the gear 45 is .ofi -center-with respect to the gear 44 with 'a =-view of distributing the wear on the gears. Such an arrangement :serves to counteractthe torque ofthe stationary-housing produced by'the power being applied to the driving shafts.

The opening fil-willbe of sufiicient size to permit the'insertion and removal of this unit-l5, including-the wheel35 and the wheel tunnel 32. As an illustration of ausual construction of this typepthe opening H] mightbe about four feet by sixand one-"halffeet' where the propeller wheel 3'5 would be about six feet in diameter and the over all height-of the hull from the keel to the :deckirom eleven ortwelve feet. These figures are merely illustrative, however, of a size which -would have a wide-commercial application.

order to "prevent the waste area within the opening III, a pair of containers or storage tanks 51! havebeen arrangedso as to'fit into the opening l0 about the steering column-24 in such a manner as tofill the opening as best seen in the plan view of the deck seen in Fig. These tanks znay besuitable for-the storage of either liquids or solids and might be used for fuel or water storage.

:lEt seems obvious'that this unit may be inserted or removed at will'by the usual hoisting equip.- *ment present upon shallowdr-aft vessels, which equipment is usually employed in loading and unloading of cargo. Inthis'manner any damage or injury to the propeller wheel or tunnel can be readily inspected or repaired by merely loosening the frame 20 and hoisting the entire assembly onto the deck. Such an operation can be performed while the vessel remains in floating or traveling position and dry docking of the vessel is unnecessary. In fact, the unit can be reached for inspection more readily than would be possible by a 'diver going under the water.

The combination propeller and rudder gives a suflicient rudder power because of the fact that the propeller wheel is turned with the rudder and the directional thrust of the discharging stream of the propeller tends to drive the stern of the vessel in the desired direction so that quick and accurate control of the vessel may be had. Steer- ,ing by directional thrust of the propeller permits the maneuvering of a craft laterally without any fore-or aft movement which is not the case with the conventional type screw propelled tug.

This permits the passage of tows through bridges .or narrowpassages .at a rate of speed where the risk of damage would be naught with .an increase of rudder power.

.of water to enter .thetunne'l 32 so that therwheel can readily obtain a full cut in the water. The skeg is of sufiicient strength tora-ise'the hull over an obstruction which the keel might .contactand .t-husshield the propelling and steering unit.

The eccentric ll permits adjustment of the inolination-ofathe steering column 24 and-the drive shaft 3'8 and the consequent inclination of the plane of rotation of the wheel35 so that it may be tilted slightlyin'accordance with the .draft of the vessel. The provision of this lower hear.-

'ing forthe steering and driving unitgives substantial protection for the wheel against obstacles in shallowwater.andaprovides a rigid support so as to avoid vibration. By putting the Wheel; between two bearings, the tank-50 may be used for the storageof fuel, waten'or ballast as the case may be.

The stream-lined arrangement of the hull permits the slip stream from either'side of the (hull -t0 -moveinward'ly :and that a full thrust isobtained bythe wheel so'there is no area where an air pocket may be formed in which the wheel would :rotate inefliciently.

The unit is arranged so that itmayvbe turned through a circle orcomplete revolution. In this manner a non-reversible power unit may be used and equal power applied in driving forward, backward or laterally :as desired.

.It "seemsobvious that with a unit-of the type 'herein disclosed, that the propelling vessel-might beiused as a-pus'hertype rather than towing the loadand that-control er the load would be entirely possibleldue to the increased-rudder power;

thata unit'o-f this sort could be readily adapted .to. existing barges and vesselsand' could result in self-propelled barges so that a group of barges would each have suitable propelling and steering power. i I

Broadly, the invention contemplates a removable combination steering and propelling unit for shallow draft vessels:

What is claimed is:

1. A combination driving and steering unit for shallow draft vessel having an opening through the deck and a skeg comprising an extension of the keel, a steering column having a frustoconical rearwardly converging wheel tunnel connected thereto, an adjustable eccentric bearing in said skeg, a trunnion on said tunnel to fit therein, a drive shaft in said column, a wheel in said tunnel, and means to support said unit in the opening whereby the unit may be inserted and removed.

2. A shallow draft vessel, a keel extension skeg thereon, an opening through the deck at the stern of the vessel, a combination steering and driving unit insertable through said opening, an adjustable eccentric bearing in said skeg to receive said unit, and means insertable to fill such opening after placement of the unit.

3. A shallow draft vessel, a keel extension skeg thereon, an opening through the deck at the stern of the vessel, a combination steering and. driving unit insertable through said opening, an adjustable eccentric bearing in said skeg to receive said unit, and means insertable to fill such opening after placement of the unit, said unit comprising a steering column, a frusto-conical rearwardly converging wheel tunnel and a propeller wheel rotatable therewithin.

4. A- shallow draft vessel, a keel extension skeg thereon, an opening through the deck at the stern of the vessel, a combination steering and driving unit insertable through said opening, an adjustable eccentric bearing in said skeg to receive said unit, and means insertable to fill such opening after placement of the unit, said unit comprising a steering column and frusto-conical rearwardly converging wheel tunnel, a drive shaft and a propeller wheel rotatably disposed in said column and tunnel respectively whereby the unit may be removed, repaired or replaced while the vessel is in normal floating or traveling position, said propeller wheel tunnel converging rearwardly of said propeller wheel.

5. A combination steering and driving unit for shallow draft vessels comprising a frame, a steering column extending therethrough, a frustoconical rearwardly converging wheel tunnel on the lower end of said column, a bearing stud shaft extending downwardly from said tunnel, a bearing support for said stud shaft, a gear turnable on said frame and connected to turn said column in steering, a drive shaft rotatably mounted in said column and tunnel, a shaft mounted for rotation in said tunnel, a propeller wheel in said tunnel and connected to said drive shaft, and means to drive said shaft, said tunnel converging rearwardly of said propeller wheel.

WILLIAM H. HOUSE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

